Welcome to Dirty South TV, an Independent Broadcasting Network based out of the United States. Our Mission is to provide you, the viewer and listener, with the latest information on local music, local music venues, local concerts, local bands, music videos, and a look at the original format of music television as it was in the 1980’s. View the different cities we are now operating from and choose your local city or one of the other music cities across the United States.

If you’re near a major city that is not listed and you would like coverage in your area, please contact us and we’ll do what we can to get in your area!

As one of the greatest college towns in the nation, it should come as no surprise that Athens also packs one of the strongest music scenes in the nation, pound-for-pound. Is it numerically overmatched by the country’s larger cities? Sure, but with iconic venues like the 40 Watt Club and Georgia Theater, and legendary bands like REM, the B-52s, and Widespread Panic calling this place home, Athens definitely punches above its weight class (more boxing metaphors, please!). And that’s not even counting those affable weirdos in The Elephant 6 Recording Company, a local Athens musical collective that includes indie bands like Neutral Milk Hotel and The Apples in stereo, groups you’ve been told you should listen to but probably still don’t entirely “get.”

Atlanta, GA

In addition to the comically long list of rappers who hail from the ATL, the Southern capital also boasts an eclectic mix of genre-spanning musical acts that include the decidedly country Zac Brown Band, the metal-as-f**k Mastodon, and the virtuoso guitar god Kaki King. Oh, and the grammy-winning Atlanta Symphony Orchestra too. Rooms like The Masquerade cater more to the smaller rock crowd, while The Tabernacle hosts mid-sized shows for just about every genre, and massive venues like the Philips Arena are the go-to for your Mötley Crües, your Fleetwood Macs, and your Lady Gagas.

In the immortal words of hip hop mogul/oddly sized human Jermaine Dupri, “Welcome to Atlanta where the playas play…”

You don’t get a nickname like “Live Music Capital of the World” by being second-rate, and with big-name festivals like SxSW, Fun Fun Fun Fest, and ACL (to name only a few), Austin’s got the rest of the country beat handily as far as outdoor shows go. Even when there isn’t a festival running, though, you can stop in at any of the myriad bars and restaurants that serve up quality live performances in addition to their standard fare, from Stubb’s BBQ and Emo’s to Donn’s Depot and the Mean Eyed Cat. It also doesn’t hurt that the place produces amazing talent, too, with bands as varied as Explosions in the Sky and Jamestown Revival — not to mention deceased legends Stevie Ray Vaughn and Janis Joplin — calling Texas’ capital city home.

Louisville treasures its eclectic musical heritage. As a frontier town and then a thriving river city, Louisville became a way station for some of America’s most original music including the blues, jazz, rock & roll, country, jugband and of course roots and bluegrass.

This musical spirit is alive and well in today’s Louisville where intimate downtown and neighborhood music clubs host concerts almost every night of the week and the summer calendar is literally filled with music festivals celebrating and showcasing everything from homegrown American folk music to the more international flavors of jazz.

If all you know about the home of the blues is Elvis Presley, or (god forbid) that awful “Walking in Memphis” song, consider this your crash course in “What Makes Memphis Musically Relevant 101.” Yes, the King is Memphis’ favorite son, but this town has also produced such notable acts as Justin “Derrrty Pop” Timberlake, the former lead singer of Saliva, Josey “Oh, that dude?” Scott, and Aretha Franklin, who needs no nickname. Beale Street’s the big musical draw here for visitors with even half a clue, and while it’s certainly worth checking out BB King’s Blues Club, the locals forego Beale’s neon, touristy splendor for smaller venues like Hi-Tone Cafe and Young Avenue Deli, or larger national acts performing at Minglewood Hall, FedExForum, or the Bartlett Performing Arts Center.

Music City’s synonymous with the “Nashville sound” developed by musical luminaries like Chet Atkins and Owen Bradley, and while much of it’s obviously still dominated by artists like Blake Shelton and institutions like the Grand Ole Opry, there’s more to Nashville’s music scene than strictly country. This town’s home to acts like The Black Keys, Paramore, Kings of Leon, and Jack White, with the latter opening Third Man Records: a combination record label/music store/venue that hosts live shows in its Blue Room performance space. The indie scene’s pretty strong over the river in East Nashville, too, although you can still catch national acts (from Meat Loaf to the Shins) at the Ryman Auditorium, the Opry’s former home.
Oh, and you can literally get a taste of the city’s music scene as soon as you arrive: Nashville International Airport has hosted a live music series since 1981, and sees between 80 and 100 local bands perform on four stages in the terminal every year.

Being eclectic is all well and good, but there’s something to be said for a city dominated by one or two styles of music; NOLA is that city. The germ of Dixieland jazz that eventually spread to other major US metros first incubated here, and jazz and the blues are inextricably interwoven throughout the life of the city. How interwoven? Well, the idea of the “jazz funeral” was born here, where procession members celebrate the life of the departed through song and dance, and the brass band tradition born in neighborhoods like Tremé is still very much alive these days.

Modern jazz greats like Wynton Marsalis and Kermit Ruffins hail from the Crescent City, and the famous Preservation Hall keeps the tradition alive through riveting nightly performances by locals, touring musicians, and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band. Still, you can hit up venues like Tipitina’s and Siberia for live performances outside of NOLA’s iconic jazz scene.

For a city probably known best for its mansions, cliff walks, boating, and breathtaking coastal scenery, Newport, Rhode Island, isn’t typically considered a music destination. But live music has been a part of Newport since the 1800s, and continues to thrive today. According to Andrea McHugh of the Newport, Rhode Island Convention and Visitors Bureau, “Music has been an integral part of the seaport city’s heritage for centuries. It’s been documented that famed opera singers made Newport a part of their travels as far back as the early 1800s, and the Boston Symphony Orchestra played here in 1882, at a time when it was uncommon for them to play out of state.” Come the 1950s, live music festivals were literally “born” in Newport. “There were no music festivals back then,” explained George Wein, jazz musician and founder of the Newport Jazz and Folk Festivals. “Ours were well before Woodstock was even conceived.” Rhode Island has always been a great state for music, and there are lots of fine places to listen, from big clubs to more intimate venues. So this list doesn’t pretend to be complete, or even “the best.” We’ve left off some of the better-known venues, such as Chan’s and Lupo’s, because you probably already know about them. But here are five places worth checking out: The Newport Jazz Festival was the first of its kind in America and featured legendary performers Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, Duke Ellington, and Miles Davis. The Newport Folk Festival is known for launching the careers of artists Joan Baez and Bob Dylan, in the ’60s. The festival went on to cultivate a broad range of folk music, and to revive other genres such as blues and gospel.